Bringing the Past to Life
 Patricia McAnany: Tracing the Chocolate Road
To the ancient Maya living in Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan state of Mexico, cacao, the basic ingredient of cocoa and chocolate, was not just an indulgence—it was the food of the gods and a form of currency. Elite Maya living in major cities, like Chichen Itza in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala, used cacao in both religious and political ceremonies. But those areas were not environmentally suitable for cacao cultivation according to BU archaeologist Patricia McAnany, who is trying to determine who controlled the cacao trade—local villagers or members of the elite classes living in important Maya cities. McAnany, who focuses on questions of economic and political control in ancient societies, says “We can’t fully understand ancient societies until we understand the basis of their food and luxury crop production.”
 During the course of McAnany’s Xibun (pronounced shee-boon) Archaeological Project (XARP), “wild” cacao trees were found in the Xibun River Valley of Belize. There is also ethnohistoric evidence of cacao cultivation in the region during the 17th century. McAnany’s team is now searching for direct evidence of cacao and trying to determine whether production in the valley was regulated by outsiders, much as Europe used the Caribbean for sugar production, or whether local villages controlled production and made alliances with major cities to secure their markets.
Evidence from throughout the Xibun Valley indicates that around 825 ce, political power shifted from the old heartland in the west to cities in the drier north. Inscriptions found at one site in the valley, known as the Hershey site, link it to Naranjo, a Maya city to the west. Downriver, on the other hand, three round shrine structures have been discovered. They are similar to a type used at Chichen Itza and provide evidence of northern influence.
 McAnany’s team found scattered human bones in a buried passageway at the Hershey site that date to just before the city was abandoned during the 9th century. The remains, males and females of various ages, indicate that they may have belonged to a family, and teeth that were filed and inlaid with jade indicate wealth and power. McAnany thinks that the crypt of an important family may have been desecrated, or that they were possibly murdered—either case pointing to a shift in power.
While the north was clearly becoming more important, it is not clear whether it was actively controlling cacao production in the Xibun Valley. Graduate students working with McAnany are currently analyzing pottery found throughout the valley to determine if it was made locally or imported. The bones of an elite male burial are undergoing isotopic analysis to determine his place of birth. His excellent physical condition (his bones indicate the well-developed musculature of a warrior or a ball player) and a carved trophy skull found in his grave are proof of his high status. Since bones preserve chemical traces from the region where people grew up, McAnany is trying to determine if this man’s chemistry is similar to that of other skeletons found in the Xibun Valley. If his bone chemistry is not a match, it will indicate that  outsiders had important roles in the political and economic life of the valley.
Although McAnany focuses on smaller sites rather than major cities, her goal is to understand the interplay of politics, economics, and religion in the broader Maya society. “I come at it from an economic angle, but I am studying it in context with the rest of society,” she explains.
For more information, see www.bu.edu/tricia/reports/xarp2004/
— by Trina Arpin |
